The greatest hobby in the world

I know a number of people who absolutely live for their hobbies. They work hard all week and the weekend comes they’re off pursuing that hobby.

For example, one friend in Florida has a boat and an RV. It’s all he talks about. Another friend is an amateur photographer. Summer, winter, spring or fall, he walks the streets of New York City with camera in hand and a couple of lenses hanging from his vest. It’s all he wants to do.

When I hear the enthusiasm in their voices, I sometimes feel badly that I don’t have a “real” hobby. And then one day it hit me. I do have a hobby! It’s taking the ideas that come my way, thinking them through, and then creating something (emphasis on “creating”) as a result. This is really the same thing I do for my clients, but in this case I do it for me, I do it because I think it will help people, and I do it because it sounds like fun.

The How to Give Your Business an Extreme Marketing Makeover book was a hobby project. So was the Do-It-Yourself Marketing Makeover Mini-Course, my Marketing Writing Course, the Marketing Master Class, and helping Will Rico develop RaveAbout.Us.

My latest hobby effort takes a different turn. Here’s how: I’m pretty much a one-man band. Spending a lot of time prospecting is not only impractical, but also impossible. So, throughout the years, I learned how to approach key people in business, ask for advice, and accomplish a heck of a lot more in less time than I ever would have or could have accomplished by any other means.

I thought about how I use this process and concluded that it was worthy of sharing with others. I sat down, documented it, and then shared it with a couple of people who loved it. Having that buy-in from people who said, “Wow,” I turned it into an e-pub, bought a domain, created a little website, then flipped the switch to take it live at AdviceCallTechnique.com.

It’s a strange thing. But I don’t know how I ever could have had more fun with a more conventional hobby. After all, what could ever be more fun than creating something, sharing it with others, and helping them as a result? I’d call that the greatest hobby in the world.